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‘Triggers’ are specific factors that may increase your risk of having a migraine attack.

Triggers do not ‘cause’ migraine. Instead, they are thought to activate processes that cause migraine in people who are prone to the illness. Most Migrainers have more than one trigger – yet a trigger may not cause a migraine every time. Triggers seem to build, so one day you may be able to have a glass of red wine and the next only a sip. Triggers compound until you reach your tipping point and then you have an attack. Also triggers can build over a number of days.

Understanding your triggers is an important part of your migraine management plan. Once you have identified your triggers, it will be easier for you to avoid them and reduce your chances of having a migraine attack.

Some triggers will jump out at you – others will be hard to find – but keeping a migraine diary can help.

Stress
Periods of high stress,including life changes
Accumulated stress
Reacting quickly and easily to stress
Repressed emotions
Factors related to stress include anxiety, worry, shock,depression, excitement, mental fatigue, loss and grief.
Both “bad stress” and “good stress” can be triggers. Howwe perceive and react to situations can trigger (or prevent) migraines. Other triggers can include unrealistic timelines or expectations of oneself.

Dietary Triggers
Food triggers do not necessarily contribute to migraines in all individuals, and particular foods may trigger attacks in certain people only on occasion. Be your own expert by keeping a journal of foods you have eaten before a migraine attack and see whether the removal or reduction of certain foods from your diet improves your headaches.
Skipping meals, fasting, and low blood sugar can also trigger migraines. If you’re unable to follow a normal eating schedule, pack snacks.

Beverages
Chocolate and cocoa. Alcoholic beverages (especially red wine, beer, and sherry). Caffeine (even in small amounts) may be a trigger for some people.

Near-death experiences
A near-death experience (NDE) refers to a broad range of personal experiences associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations including detachment from the body; feelings of levitation; extreme fear; total serenity, security, or warmth; the experience of absolute dissolution; and the presence of a light.

Depersonalisation
This is a malfunction or anomaly of the individuals self-awareness. It is a feeling of watching oneself act, while having no control over a situation. Sufferers feel they have changed, and the world has become less real, vague, dreamlike, or lacking in significance. It can be a disturbing experience, since many feel that, indeed, they are living in a “dream”.

Derealisation
This is where you feel separated from the outside world, such as a sensory fog, a pane of glass, or a veil. Individuals may complain that what they see lacks vividness and emotional coloring. Emotional response to visual recognition of loved ones may be significantly reduced. Feelings of déjà vu or jamais vu are common. Familiar places may look alien, bizarre, and surreal.

Synaesthesia
from the ancient Greek σύν (syn), “together,” and αἴσθησις (aisthēsis), “sensation,” is a neurologically-based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. Over 60 types of synesthesia have been reported. One common form is known as grapheme – colour synesthesia – letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colour. In another form numbers, days of the week and months of the year evoke personalities. Or visual motion → sound synesthesia, involves hearing sounds in response to visual motion and flicker.

Anomic aphasia – ‘loss of a word’ often the sufferer knowns the word and may even be able to see it – but can not actually say it.

Reading disturbances

- Writing disturbances

4 Visual disturbances

Visual aura is the most common of auras. A visual aura is like an electrical or chemical wave that moves across the visual cortex of your brain. It is possible to see this via a MRI. As the activation spreads during an aura, a person loses normal visual function.

The best known visual aura is called a fortification spectrum because its pattern resembles the walls of a medieval fort. It may start as a small hole of light or sometimes as bright geometrical lines and shapes in your visual field.This visual aura may expand into a sickle- or C-shaped object, with zigzag lines on the leading edge.

Autokinesis
Illusion of apparent movement of stationary objects

Cinematographic vision
Visual illusion whereby the normal perception of moving objects is replaced by seeing a series of “stills” as in a film run too slowly

Corona phenomenon
Light or colour round an object.

Diplopia
Commonly known as double vision, it is the perception of two images of a single object beginning seen at the same time.

Dysmetropsia
Visual illusions involving an alteration in the size or separation of visual objects.

Macropsia – objects are perceived larger than normal, causing you to feel smaller.

Micropsia – objects are perceived to be smaller than they actually are, causing you to feel larger.

Pelopsia – objects appear nearer than they actually are.

Teleopsia – objects appear much further away than they actually are.

Illusory visual splitting, tilted vision, inverted vision
Illusions whereby the entire visual environment or objects are rotated by less than 90°, by 90° or by 180°, respectively, so that the visual targets appear tilted, turned to a right angle or turned upside down.

Metamorphopsia
Where objects appear to be distorted

Mosaic illusion
Fracture of the visual image into pieces dovetailed together as in a mosaic

Polyopia /Palinopsia
Vision of multiple images. (Greek: palin for “again” and opsia for “seeing”) is a visual disturbance that causes images to persist to some extent even after their corresponding stimulus has left. These images are known as afterimages and occur in persons with normal vision.

Visual loss
Also known as scotoma, this can range from partial lost to complete loss.

Like this:

The 5 possible stages of a Migraine attack

At first it is often difficult to predict when a migraine attack is going to happen, however, over time you can learn to recognise a pattern of each attack – everyone is different and sadly not all attacks are the same – so keeping a diary may help you and sadly the more you have the more experience you will have of spotting the signs… thus giving you the clues to stop and rest or to take medication. Understanding your phases can also help your doctors to diagnosis and treat you.

In adults* a migraine attack actual comes in four or five phases – that roll on from each other – however not everyone has all five phases:

Warning phase (Known as the Prodrome)

Aura (not always present)

The headache (not always present – can be one sided or even both sides)

Resolution (Known as the Postdrome)

Recovery

* In children the migraine attack is often shorter and it may therefore not be possible to fully make out the different phases.

1. Warning phase (Known as the Prodrome)

The Prodrome can occur hours or even days before the aura or headache begins – often overlooked these symptoms maybe mistake for migraine ‘triggers’. it is however considered to be an integral component of the migraine process. It acts as a warning sign that a migraine is imminent. About 60% of people with migraine experience prodromal symptoms.

Typical symptoms can include:

Physical symptoms

Muscle stiffness, especially in the neck

Altered perception of heat and cold

Increased thirst

Increased urination

Food cravings

Loss of appetite

Yawning

Constipation

Diarrhoea

Fluid retention

Sensitivity to light and/or sound

Psychological symptoms

Depression

Euphoria

Irritability

Restlessness

Hyperactivity

Fatigue

Drowsiness

Difficulty in concentration

2 Aura

The aura of migraine includes a wide range of neurological symptoms – it is not only visual as many people think. This stage can statistically last for between 5 and 30 minutes, and usually happens before the headache. However, I have met many people whom experience this for much longer and a few whom have aura symptoms for days and days. Statistical only 15% of migraine sufferers have aura, and will only have a few of these listed. Auara can be broken down into 4 groups: (A full explanation of these can be found here)

Sensory disturbances

Motor disturbances

Verbal disturbances

Visual disturbances

Sensory

Somatosensory symptoms

Body image disturbances (Alice in Wonderland Syndrome),

Near-death experiences

Depersonalisation

Derealisation

Auditory symptoms

Gustatory symptoms

Olfactory symptoms

Paramnesias

Forced reminiscence

Dreaming disturbance

Synaesthesia

Time perception disturbances

Motor

Paralysis

Weakness

Numbness

Painless sensation [tactile hallucination] of coldness

Tactile hallucinations of movement

Impaired coordination

Involuntary movements

Verbal disturbances

Stuttering

Involuntary vocalisations

Paralysis of speech muscles

Global aphasia

Anomic aphasia

Reading disturbances

Writing disturbances

Visual disturbances

Visual aura is the most common of auras. A visual aura is like an electrical or chemical wave that moves across the visual cortex of your brain. It is possible to see this via a MRI. As the activation spreads during an aura, a person loses normal visual function.

Autokinesis

Cinematographic vision

Corona phenomenon

Diplopia

Dysmetropsia

Illusory visual splitting, tilted vision, inverted vision

Metamorphopsia

Mosaic illusion

Polyopia /Palinopsia

Visual loss

Visual hallucinations

Random form dimension

Line form dimension

Curve form dimension

Web form dimension

Lattice form dimension

Tunnel form dimension

Spiral form dimension

Kaleidoscope form dimension

Floaters

Soft focus

Snow

3.The headache
This stage involves head pain which can be severe, even unbearable – I would often describe this as a horse kicking my head from the inside out.

The headache is typically throbbing, and made worse by movement, it is usually on one side of the head, but some sufferers get the pain on both sides of the head, or over the forehead, but not usually at the back of the head.

But YOU CAN have a migraine attack with no headache and these are not to be underestaimated sometimes the auara stage can be worse than the headache stage.

The headache phase is often accompanied by:

Nausea (sickness)

Vomiting (being sick)

Sensitive to light

Sensitive to sound

Stiffness or tenderness of the neck

4 Resolution (Known as the Postdrome)

The postdromal or resolution phase follows the headache and may last for up to 48 hours. Most attacks slowly fade away, but some stop suddenly after the sufferer is sick, or cries a lot. Sleep seems to be the best ‘cure’ for many sufferers, who find that even an hour or two can be enough to end an attack. Many children find that sleeping for just a few minutes can stop their attack.

Typical symptoms include:

Fatigue

Sore muscles

Food intolerance

Malaise

Alteration in mood

Impaired concentration

Scalp tenderness

Decreased energy requiring a period of rest.

A few sufferers immediately after an attack can feel energised, euphoric and can return to normal activities at once.

5 Recovery

Often known as the hungover or run over phase – This is the final stage of an attack, and it can take hours or even days for this ‘hangover’ type feeling to disappear.

Symptoms can be similar to those of the first stage, and often they are mirrored symptoms. For example, if you lost your appetite at the beginning of the attack, you might be very hungry now. If you were tired, now you might feel full of energy. Most people just feel warn out and weak and in need of rest.

Like this:

UK Migraine Awareness Week – Day 5

Migraine aura is the complex of neurological or neuropsychological symptoms. It is the second stage of a migraine attack. However, not all migraine sufferers experience aura. But for those whom do it can be a very frightening experience and at times even worse than the headache stage. But most people think aura is just the flashy lines or dots in front of the eyes, but this another misconception, Migraine aura can effect all parts of the body and in some most odd ways. Even those people whom have the visual aura may experience other things which they have not linked to Migraine.

Near-death experiences
A near-death experience (NDE) refers to a broad range of personal experiences associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations including detachment from the body; feelings of levitation; extreme fear; total serenity, security, or warmth; the experience of absolute dissolution; and the presence of a light.

Depersonalisation
This is a malfunction or anomaly of the individuals self-awareness. It is a feeling of watching oneself act, while having no control over a situation. Sufferers feel they have changed, and the world has become less real, vague, dreamlike, or lacking in significance. It can be a disturbing experience, since many feel that, indeed, they are living in a “dream”.

Derealisation
This is where you feel separated from the outside world, such as a sensory fog, a pane of glass, or a veil. Individuals may complain that what they see lacks vividness and emotional coloring. Emotional response to visual recognition of loved ones may be significantly reduced. Feelings of déjà vu or jamais vu are common. Familiar places may look alien, bizarre, and surreal.

Synaesthesia
from the ancient Greek σύν (syn), “together,” and αἴσθησις (aisthēsis), “sensation,” is a neurologically-based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. Over 60 types of synesthesia have been reported. One common form is known as grapheme – colour synesthesia – letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colour. In another form numbers, days of the week and months of the year evoke personalities. Or visual motion → sound synesthesia, involves hearing sounds in response to visual motion and flicker.

Anomic aphasia – ‘loss of a word’ often the sufferer knowns the word and may even be able to see it – but can not actually say it.

Reading disturbances

- Writing disturbances

4 Visual disturbances

Visual aura is the most common of auras. A visual aura is like an electrical or chemical wave that moves across the visual cortex of your brain. It is possible to see this via a MRI. As the activation spreads during an aura, a person loses normal visual function.

The best known visual aura is called a fortification spectrum because its pattern resembles the walls of a medieval fort. It may start as a small hole of light or sometimes as bright geometrical lines and shapes in your visual field.This visual aura may expand into a sickle- or C-shaped object, with zigzag lines on the leading edge.

Autokinesis
Illusion of apparent movement of stationary objects

Cinematographic vision
Visual illusion whereby the normal perception of moving objects is replaced by seeing a series of “stills” as in a film run too slowly

Corona phenomenon
Light or colour round an object.

Diplopia
Commonly known as double vision, it is the perception of two images of a single object beginning seen at the same time.

Dysmetropsia
Visual illusions involving an alteration in the size or separation of visual objects.

Macropsia – objects are perceived larger than normal, causing you to feel smaller.

Micropsia – objects are perceived to be smaller than they actually are, causing you to feel larger.

Pelopsia – objects appear nearer than they actually are.

Teleopsia – objects appear much further away than they actually are.

Illusory visual splitting, tilted vision, inverted vision
Illusions whereby the entire visual environment or objects are rotated by less than 90°, by 90° or by 180°, respectively, so that the visual targets appear tilted, turned to a right angle or turned upside down.

Metamorphopsia
Where objects appear to be distorted

Mosaic illusion
Fracture of the visual image into pieces dovetailed together as in a mosaic

Polyopia /Palinopsia
Vision of multiple images. (Greek: palin for “again” and opsia for “seeing”) is a visual disturbance that causes images to persist to some extent even after their corresponding stimulus has left. These images are known as afterimages and occur in persons with normal vision.

Visual loss
Also known as scotoma, this can range from partial lost to complete loss.

UK Migraine Awareness Week day 4

The 5 possible stages of a Migraine attack

At first it is often difficult to predict when a migraine attack is going to happen, however, over time you can learn to recognise a pattern of each attack – everyone is different and sadly not all attacks are the same – so keeping a diary may help you and sadly the more you have the more experience you will have of spotting the signs… thus giving you the clues to stop and rest or to take medication. Understanding your phases can also help your doctors to diagnosis and treat you.

In adults* a migraine attack actual comes in four or five phases – that roll on from each other – however not everyone has all five phases:

Warning phase (Known as the Prodrome)

Aura (not always present)

The headache (not always present – can be one sided or even both sides)

Resolution (Known as the Postdrome)

Recovery

* In children the migraine attack is often shorter and it may therefore not be possible to fully make out the different phases.

1. Warning phase (Known as the Prodrome)

The Prodrome can occur hours or even days before the aura or headache begins – often overlooked these symptoms maybe mistake for migraine ‘triggers’. it is however considered to be an integral component of the migraine process. It acts as a warning sign that a migraine is imminent. About 60% of people with migraine experience prodromal symptoms.

Typical symptoms can include:

Physical symptoms

Muscle stiffness, especially in the neck

Altered perception of heat and cold

Increased thirst

Increased urination

Food cravings

Loss of appetite

Yawning

Constipation

Diarrhoea

Fluid retention

Sensitivity to light and/or sound

Psychological symptoms

Depression

Euphoria

Irritability

Restlessness

Hyperactivity

Fatigue

Drowsiness

Difficulty in concentration

2 Aura

The aura of migraine includes a wide range of neurological symptoms – it is not only visual as many people think. This stage can statistically last for between 5 and 30 minutes, and usually happens before the headache. However, I have met many people whom experience this for much longer and a few whom have aura symptoms for days and days. Statistical only 15% of migraine sufferers have aura, and will only have a few of these listed. Auara can be broken down into 4 groups: (A full explanation of these can be found here)

Sensory disturbances

Motor disturbances

Verbal disturbances

Visual disturbances

Sensory

Somatosensory symptoms

Body image disturbances (Alice in Wonderland Syndrome),

Near-death experiences

Depersonalisation

Derealisation

Auditory symptoms

Gustatory symptoms

Olfactory symptoms

Paramnesias

Forced reminiscence

Dreaming disturbance

Synaesthesia

Time perception disturbances

Motor

Paralysis

Weakness

Numbness

Painless sensation [tactile hallucination] of coldness

Tactile hallucinations of movement

Impaired coordination

Involuntary movements

Verbal disturbances

Stuttering

Involuntary vocalisations

Paralysis of speech muscles

Global aphasia

Anomic aphasia

Reading disturbances

Writing disturbances

Visual disturbances

Visual aura is the most common of auras. A visual aura is like an electrical or chemical wave that moves across the visual cortex of your brain. It is possible to see this via a MRI. As the activation spreads during an aura, a person loses normal visual function.

Autokinesis

Cinematographic vision

Corona phenomenon

Diplopia

Dysmetropsia

Illusory visual splitting, tilted vision, inverted vision

Metamorphopsia

Mosaic illusion

Polyopia /Palinopsia

Visual loss

Visual hallucinations

Random form dimension

Line form dimension

Curve form dimension

Web form dimension

Lattice form dimension

Tunnel form dimension

Spiral form dimension

Kaleidoscope form dimension

Floaters

Soft focus

Snow

3.The headache
This stage involves head pain which can be severe, even unbearable – I would often describe this as a horse kicking my head from the inside out.

The headache is typically throbbing, and made worse by movement, it is usually on one side of the head, but some sufferers get the pain on both sides of the head, or over the forehead, but not usually at the back of the head.

But YOU CAN have a migraine attack with no headache and these are not to be underestaimated sometimes the auara stage can be worse than the headache stage.

The headache phase is often accompanied by:

Nausea (sickness)

Vomiting (being sick)

Sensitive to light

Sensitive to sound

Stiffness or tenderness of the neck

4 Resolution (Known as the Postdrome)

The postdromal or resolution phase follows the headache and may last for up to 48 hours. Most attacks slowly fade away, but some stop suddenly after the sufferer is sick, or cries a lot. Sleep seems to be the best ‘cure’ for many sufferers, who find that even an hour or two can be enough to end an attack. Many children find that sleeping for just a few minutes can stop their attack.

Typical symptoms include:

Fatigue

Sore muscles

Food intolerance

Malaise

Alteration in mood

Impaired concentration

Scalp tenderness

Decreased energy requiring a period of rest.

A few sufferers immediately after an attack can feel energised, euphoric and can return to normal activities at once.

5 Recovery

Often known as the hungover or run over phase – This is the final stage of an attack, and it can take hours or even days for this ‘hangover’ type feeling to disappear.

Symptoms can be similar to those of the first stage, and often they are mirrored symptoms. For example, if you lost your appetite at the beginning of the attack, you might be very hungry now. If you were tired, now you might feel full of energy. Most people just feel warn out and weak and in need of rest.

Even amongst the medical professionals the exact cause of a Migraine attack is not fully understood; but last year researchers located genetic regions which are linked to the onset of a migraine attack.

So the current thinking is that Migraine is a neurological disorder.

Contrary to myths that surround migraines, they are not caused by mental illness, nor constricted blood vessels, and have nothing in common with chronic headaches caused by stress or sinus problems.

Most researchers occur that those whom have migraine have a sensitive or ‘hyper-excitable’ brain, so that they are much more sensitive to stimuli that would not affect someone not prone to migraine.

So Migraine attacks do not just happen – they are triggered – everyday factors around a migrainer contribute to the trigger building process to the point where it becomes too much and a migraine is triggered.

These triggers can vary from person to person and attack to attack and don’t always lead to migraine. A combination of triggers — not a single thing or event — is more likely to set off an attack. But, working out your triggers is a must for any migraine sufferer – much easy said than done, I know, but understanding your triggers is an important part of your migraine management plan. Once you have identified your triggers, it will be easier for you to avoid them and reduce your chances of having a migraine attack.

Some triggers will jump out at you – others will be hard to find – but keeping a migraine diary can help here. By recording your activities, pain levels and medication usage. You should be able to spot (over time) your triggers.

Stress
Periods of high stress,including life changes
Accumulated stress
Reacting quickly and easily to stress
Repressed emotions
Factors related to stress include anxiety, worry, shock,depression, excitement, mental fatigue, loss and grief.
Both “bad stress” and “good stress” can be triggers. Howwe perceive and react to situations can trigger (or prevent) migraines. Other triggers can include unrealistic timelines or expectations of oneself.

Dietary Triggers
Food triggers do not necessarily contribute to migraines in all individuals, and particular foods may trigger attacks in certain people only on occasion. Be your own expert by keeping a journal of foods you have eaten before a migraine attack and see whether the removal or reduction of certain foods from your diet improves your headaches.
Skipping meals, fasting, and low blood sugar can also trigger migraines. If you’re unable to follow a normal eating schedule, pack snacks.

Beverages
Chocolate and cocoa. Alcoholic beverages (especially red wine, beer, and sherry). Caffeine (even in small amounts) may be a trigger for some people.

Day 2 of the UK Migraine Awareness Week.

Migraines are not all the same… there are many different types and yes you can have more than one type at any one time. And yes even the way an attack happens for you can change on each attack… But understanding the type of migraine you have not only allows you peace of mind but gives you others to talk to and possible treatments..

Types of Migraine

Abdominal migraine
Abdominal migraine is one of the variants of migraine. It is also known as “periodic syndrome”. Occurring in around 4% of children, the predominant symptom of the attack is abdominal pain rather than a headache. Sometimes it can be misdiagnosed in an A&E as appendicitis.

They usually have a family history of migraine and go on to develop typical migraine later in their life.

The attacks are characterised by periodic bouts of moderate to severe midline abdominal pain lasting for 1 to 72 hours. Along with the abdominal pain they may have other symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, flushing or pallor.

Medications that are useful for treating migraine work to control these attacks in most children including daily preventive medications and anti-nausea medications to take during the attack.Acephalgic migraine
Also called silent migraine, migraine aura without headache, amigrainous migraine, isolated visual migraine and optical migraine.
It is a neurological syndrome.

It is a rare variant of migraine in which the patient may experience aura, nausea, photophobia, hemiparesis and other migraine symptoms but does not experience headache.Basilar artery migraine
Also known as Bickerstaff’s Migraine. This is a rare form of migraine with aura, it is where the basilar artery (a blood vessel at the base of the brain) goes into spasm causing a reduced blood supply to parts of the brain.

This type of migraine affects 1 in every 400 migraineurs. It comes on suddenly and can result in fleeting visual disturbances, giddiness, confusion, lack of balance, double vision, unsteadiness, fainting, tingling on both sides of the body and even loss of consciousness. The aura typically lasts less than one hour.

Often these patients are mistakenly thought to be intoxicated, under the influence of drugs, or suffering from other conditions. There is usually no weakness associated with these attacks. The headache that follows is typical of migraine headache.

The basilar artery migraine is strongly related to hormonal influences and primarily strikes young adult women and adolescent girls; as sufferers age, the migraine with aura may replace the basilar artery type.Classical migraine
This is migraine with aura. This is when you get neurological disturbances lasting between 15 minutes and an hour, before you get an actual headache.

numbness or a tingling sensation – common in the hands, arm or face, similar to ‘pins and needles’

slurred speech

poor concentration

problems with your co-ordination

Common migraine
This is a migraine with no aura. It is typical a headache affecting one half of the head and pulsating in nature and lasting from 4 to 72 hours; symptoms include:

Nausea and/or vomiting

Increased sensitivity to light

Increased sensitivity to sound

Increased sensitivity to smell

Chronic Migraine
Migraine can evolve from episodic headaches to a chronic pain syndrome. Chronic migraine is defined as a migraine headache occurring on 15 or more days per month for more than three months of which 8 are migrainous and in the absence of medicationHemiplegic migraine
This is a very rare form of migraine that is considered to be one of the more severe types of migraine It has been linked to a genetic abnormality and it is being more readily diagnosed by the medical profession in the UK. Symptoms include temporary paralysis down one side of the body, which can last for several days.

It can be accompanied by other symptoms, such as ataxia, coma, epileptic seizures, vertigo or difficulty walking, double vision or blindness, hearing impairment, numbness around the mouth leading to trouble speaking or swallowing. These symptoms are often associated with a severe one-sided headache.

This form of migraine may be confused with a stroke, but the effects are usually fully reversible.

There are two types of hemiplegic migraine:

Familial hemiplegic migraine is where migraine attacks occur in two or more people in the same family and every individual experiences weakness on one side of the body as a symptom with their migraine. In about 50% of these families, a chromosome defect may be found on chromosome 19 or on chromosome 1 and involves abnormal calcium channels.

Sporadic hemiplegic migraine is where someone experiences all the physical symptoms of familial hemiplegic migraine but doesn’t have a known connection within their family. The cause of this type of hemiplegic migraine is unknown; some are due to new or so called ‘sporadic’ gene mutations.

You should not take triptans if you have this type of headache.Hormonal migraine
Female migraineurs tend to be more susceptible to an attack around the time of their period and menstrual migraine is defined as occurring within two days either side of the first day of a period and at no other time.

Hormonal factors are one of many triggers for migraine and attacks may be prevented if other triggers are avoided around the time of their period for female migraineursIce Pick Migraine
These migraines are characterised by quick stabs of piercing head pain. The pain occurs intermittently in several locations in the head area. They usually occur between one of the more common migraine attacks. They can last for seconds or a few minutesMigraine in children
Migraine in children may be similar to adult presentations and include headache, with or without aura, accompanied by nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and relief with sleep. However, several variations of migraine are unique to children and rarely if ever occur in adults. Migraine may present with prominent nonheadache symptoms in young children (migraine without headache), or neurologic symptoms (aura) may be much more prominent than the headache.

Various recognized childhood syndromes assumed to be pathophysiologically related to migraine include benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood, abdominal migraine, cyclic vomiting of childhood, and acute confusional migraine (acute confusional state). Basilar migraine (particularly in adolescent girls) may present with prominent dizziness and near-syncope and/or syncope with or without a subsequent headache. Hemiplegic migraine (usually an autosomal dominant disorder) may present in early childhood and occasionally may continue into adulthood. Ophthalmoplegic migraine also may occur in childhood.Nocturnal Migraine
Many patients who have migraine will experience their attacks during the middle of the night or early morning hours. This headache often awakens the patient from sleep. Recent evidence suggests that these attacks are related to changes in neurotransmitters in the brain during sleep.Ocular / opthalmoplegic migraine
This is another rare form of migraine with pain often experienced around the eye, causing droopiness, redness of the eye and excessive watering. It can last from a few days to a few months. It can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting and double vision.

There may be paralysis in the muscles surrounding the eye. If these symptoms occur, you should seek immediate medical attention because the symptoms can be caused by pressure on the nerves behind the eye.Retinal migraine
Another rare migraine, the retinal type starts with a temporary, partial, or complete loss of vision in one eye. It is followed by a dull ache behind that eye that may spread to the rest of the head.

During some episodes, the visual loss may occur with no headache and at other times throbbing headache on the same side of the head as the visual loss may occur, accompanied by severe light sensitivity and/or nausea. After each episode, normal vision returns.

Retinal migraine is a different disease than scintillating scotoma, which is a visual anomaly caused by spreading depression in the occipital cortex, at the back of the brain, not in the eyes nor any component thereof, such as the retinas. Such a scintillating aura affects both eyes, and sufferers may see flashes of light; zigzagging patterns; blind spots; and shimmering spots or stars. In contrast, retinal migraine involves repeated bouts of temporary diminished vision or blindness in one eye.

Migraine does not take into account your creed, colour, education or social status….. it effects everyone – any age, any background…….

A few facts:

It is the most prevalent neurological condition in the UK

1 in 7 people in the UK suffer from migraine.

190,000 migraine attacks everyday in the UK

It costs the UK around £2.25 billion per annum.

It is estimated that 10% of schoolchildren have migraine.

Source:(Migraine Action 2011)

Yet it remains one of the least understood illness and still carries a stigma….

How many times have you or someone you know rung in sick after a night of partying…….. sighting you have a migraine?

Do you have any idea how many people this white lie insults?

A hangover is NOT a migraine attack…….. Can you imagine ever calling in sick and saying you cannot come in as you have had a minor stroke ? No… thought so…….

Having a true migraine attack hurts…….. really hurts……. on a physical and emotional level.

Imagine you are walking down a road and a dark spot appears in the corner of your eye…….. its there but not quite clear just yet……..but with each step it grows……and is now blocking the view of the world – all you see is flashing light, snow dots and squiggles…. wooh the panic is starting (Are you going blind?).. but wait your hand is numb…….(what is going on?)……this spreads to your arm………numbness and tingling….travelling to your face……..(Oh have you just been to the dentist? – you know you have felt that numbness before)…. then as you struggle to see and to walk you start to sway …..(oh are you on that roller-coaster?)…….the one which has thrown you upside down….round and round..you do not known which is up or down anymore… your tummy is churning, your head is spinning, the world is spinning too, you cannot stand up..you cannot see, you cannot think….(are you out of control?)…. Add in that bad seafood from last night……sickness is brewing..churning in your tummy…. lumps in your throat… you know your going to throw up… but still the world is turning.. you cannot think straight and look up and all you can see still is the flashing light, dots, squiggles……… a land of patchwork bubble bee sight……. your ears are stinging with the smallest of sounds……. light burns into your eyes…….the panic grows…….. the anxiety kicks in……….you want to scream for help……but you have lost the ability to communicate – words in your head just do not come out your mouth…. the room is still spinning…….. the tummy still churning…….. sickness stuck in your throat….limbs still numb….your brain has stopped thinking……. the light burning in to your eyes…….(can this get any worse?)…………. then the horse kicks you in your head from the inside out….BANG… every move BANG………you struggle to stay still… the slightest of movements – sometimes even a breath and BANG that horse kicks you again…… over and over……

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The journey of chronic migraine can be a long hard one. There is a massive difference between those whom have one migraine per month to those who are chronic (15+ per month) - it takes your life away - there is no cure - and no one really knows how it is caused.

Everyone’s journey and management plan is different. So here on the blog pages I aim to note down the experiences I have had along the way on my own personal journey... and to highlight what is going on in the world of research and treatments with a view to provide you with the information you need to make informed decisions...

...and if you have questions or need help or would like to touch base with other chronic migrainers - please use the forum - you're not alone.....

Tee

I am a chronic migraine suffer. I have been on my chronic migraine journey since 2006; although I had my first classical migraine in 1983.and first Hemplegic. migraine in 1989.... going chronic moved the goal posts....

The Migraine Talk forum was started after a frustrating day trying to find an answer to one of my medical questions... I did not realise at the time how many people it would touch..